1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a hybrid porous material and methods of preparing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Porous materials are used for separation of mixed gases, storage of gas, membranes, support for chemical reaction catalysts, and selective molecule absorption, including removal of offensive smells. Porous materials may also be used in pigment-supported organic solar cells, drug carriers, and low-k dielectric materials.
Examples of known porous materials include mesoporous silica, zeolite, metal oxides, porous clay, and activated carbon. However, these porous materials can have the following problems. First, their lifetime in use can be limited to several months due to their low adsorption capacities. Second, their adsorption capacities for basic gases, such as ammonia or an amine, can be low. Third, when surface-modification is performed to improve their adsorption selectivities, their adsorption capacities are often reduced and the ratio of modified surface area to total surface area is limited to a few percent.
To overcome these and other problems, metal-organic framework (“MOF”) compounds, which are a newer type of porous material, have been developed. MOF compounds have a large surface area, for example up to 7,000 square meters per gram (m2/g), a large adsorption capacity corresponding to the large surface area, and may have improved adsorption characteristics resulting from unrestricted surface modifications. However, the bonds between metals and organic materials of MOF compounds may be unstable in the presence of water, thus they may easily decompose in a humid environment. Therefore there remains a need for a porous material having improved stability in the presence of water, particularly if the materials also have improved adsorption capacity and/or improved adsorption specificity.